Deadline: 18th march 2024 | Are you a media outlet or CSO based in Southeast Asia interested in boosting media coverage on infrastructure development?

Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is offering four organizational grants averaging $20,000 per grant to support media and journalism activities to strengthen reporting on infrastructure development and public engagement on infrastructure debates.

Southeast Asia (SEA) is set to become the world’s fourth largest economy by 2030. To sustain economic growth, the Asian Development Bank estimates that the region needs to invest $60 billion per year upgrading its infrastructure and many SEA countries plan to rapidly expand investments.

This push for infrastructure development has led to and exacerbated environmental issues such as unchecked urban sprawl and severe environmental degradation. Further, this rush to expand infrastructure puts the rights of marginalized groups (including women, children/youth, Indigenous populations, migrants, rural populations, etc.) at high risk as they often depend on natural resources for their livelihoods and/or are more vulnerable to the pollution that may result from these projects.

Inadequate regulation, enforcement, and transparency from governments and developers alike means that these most affected groups are often not even aware of infrastructure projects until they have broken ground, nor do they have a voice in mitigating the impacts on their environments, health, and/or livelihoods.

EJN’s STRIDES project is offering grants averaging $20,000 each for local media and CSOs to implement activities that will strengthen media reporting, transparency and accountability on the impacts of infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia.

Project themes and objectives 

We welcome activities that seek to improve media content and/or build capacity of journalists and public content producers on infrastructure development and the subsequent threats to the environment and human rights.

Examples of areas impacted by infrastructure development:

  • Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake has been under pressure from the combined effects of climate change, a growing population and infrastructure development. The decline in water quality has impacted villagers in multiple ways, from lowering incomes from the fishery sector to poor sanitation and health.

  • In Timor-Leste, the Tasi Mane project, which resumed in 2023, will form the backbone of the Timor-Leste petroleum industry, bringing with it economic benefits and infrastructure development. To do so, however, the government has purchased land previously used for raising cattle, docks for fishermen, and salt farms. For those displaced, compensation and opportunities to relocate and maintain their livelihoods have been inconsistent.

Examples of activities that can be supported include, but are not limited to:

  • Training workshops and/or reporting field trips that bring journalists and content producers together with experts on infrastructure development and environmental impacts;

  • Development of resources, such as virtual learning courses or innovative tools for reporters to conduct media investigations;

  • Reporting grants for journalists and content producers;

  • Mentoring of journalists and content producers;

  • Investigative and/or collaborative infrastructure reporting projects with a national or regional focus;

  • Cross-sectoral collaborations and knowledge exchange between journalists, information providers and other key actors, such as researchers and governmental bodies;

  • Partnership and network building for environmental reporting, such as the formation of an journalists’ network or an investigative environmental reporting partnership focusing on infrastructure;

  • Transboundary media reporting and content sharing among media/information outlets based in different localities or countries;

  • Open data platform that tracks infrastructure development and projects, and provide analysis from the data collected.

Grant amount and logistics 

We anticipate supporting four organizations with an average funding amount of $20,000 each. In general, proposals with smaller budgets will be more competitive. Larger grant amounts will be considered for projects that use innovative approaches and may be more resource- and time-consuming.

We expect to notify successful applicants in March 2024, with work starting in May 2024. Projects should be completed within 12 months, by the end of April 2025. Applicants should consider this timeline when developing their work plan.

All applicants must provide a detailed budget with justification for the requested amount as part of their application using the template linked below. We ask that the budgets be reasonable and account for the costs necessary for project implementation.

Applicants are permitted and encouraged to raise co-financing for the proposed activities, but it is not required. If you have received any co-financing, please indicate the amount and the source in your application.

For projects that involve publishing stories or other material, please note that Internews, EJN, its partners, and the grant funder will be given rights to edit, publish, broadcast, and distribute those materials freely.

Acknowledgement of EJN support: Published stories, training resources and/or broadcasts must disclose EJN support by including this tagline: “This ___ was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.” Exceptions can be made for security reasons.

Eligibility

Media outlets and CSOs from Southeast Asia (Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) are welcome to apply. Applicants from Timor-Leste, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Brunei will be prioritized.

Applicants must:

  • Be a registered media or civil society organization based in any Southeast Asia country and eligible to receive international funding. Organizations based in Timor-Leste, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Brunei will be prioritized;

  • Have previous experience conducting capacity building activities for journalists;

  • Understand and be able to communicate in English;

  • Permit republication by Internews’ EJN of any output as a result of participation in the workshop.

Find out more out more and apply at the official link below:

OFFICIAL LINK

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Apply before 18th March, 2024